Program

Feb 7, 2012 7:00 PM

Amadeus

Film Club - Films on the occasion of Milos Forman's birthday.
Free Admission. First-come, first-served.

AMADEUS, 1984, 173 min. (Director's Cut), Directed by Milos Forman

For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of
Prague that he'd left behind during the Czech political crises of 1968, bringing along his usual cinematographer and
fellow Czech expatriate, Miroslav
Ondrícek. Amadeus is an expansion of a Viennese "urban legend"
concerning the death of 18th century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
From the vantage point of an insane asylum,
aging royal composer Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recalls the events of three
decades earlier, when the young
Mozart (Tom Hulce) first gained favor in the court of Austrian emperor Joseph
II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was incensed that God would bless so vulgar and
obnoxious a young snipe as Mozart with divine genius. Why was Salieri -- so
disciplined, so devoted to his art, and so willing to toady to his superiors -- not
touched by God? Unable to match Mozart's talent,
Salieri uses his influence in court to sabotage the young upstart's career.
Disguising himself as a mysterious benefactor,
Salieri commissions the backbreaking Requiem,
which eventually costs Mozart his health,
wealth, and life. Among the film's
many pearls of dialogue, the best
line goes to the emperor, who
rejects a Mozart composition on the grounds that it has "too many
notes." Amadeus won eight Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, Best
Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. In 2002, the film received a theatrical re-release as
"Amadeus: The Director's Cut,"
a version that includes 20 minutes of additional footage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

See also:Milos Forman - 80 - EXHIBITION of posters for films by Milos Forman
from the Terry Posters collection on the occasion of Milos Forman's
birthday

The exhibition is devoted to Milos Forman on the occasion of his
eightieth birthday.

Film Club – Films of Milos FormanFree Admission

AMADEUS, 1984, 173 min.Tuesday, February 7, 7pm

LOVES OF A BLONDE,
1965, 88 min., in Czech with English subtitlesTuesday, February 14, 7pm

GOLDEN SIXTIES - Portrait of Milos FormanDocumentary film by Martin
Sulik, 2009, 57 min., in Czech with English subtitlesTuesday, February 21,
7pm